Containers used for packaging foodstuffs, as well as other products for retail sale, must perform several functions. The container must hold the product, must allow the product to be transported effectively from the manufacturer to the point of sale and from the point of sale to the consumer, must often serve to dispense and store the product after acquisition by the consumer and, no less importantly, must identify the product and its source and serve as an advertising medium to promote further sales.
It is desirable that the containers be inexpensive to manufacture, yet durable so as to continue to perform their various functions effectively despite abuse and harsh environments.
The container lid plays an important role in the proper functioning of the container. It is desirable that the lid effectively close the container, and when the container is used to store and dispense the product, it is also desirable that the lid be removable and reclosable many times over the life of the container. Ice cream containers provide a good example of a container used to store and dispense the product held in the container. Ice cream containers are also subject to conditions of freezing, thawing, moisture and repeated opening and closing of the lid, all of which tend to cause deterioration and rapid failure of the container unless it is properly designed and manufactured.
It has been found advantageous to make the lids for such containers as a composite combination of both paper and plastic materials. Lid designs currently in use comprise an injection molded plastic skirt surrounding a paperboard center. The plastic skirt fits over the end of the container, engaging the end and/or sides, thereby sealing the container and providing a means for retaining the lid in the closed position. Plastic is used for the skirt because it is inexpensive, easy to mold, resilient, impervious to freezing, thawing and moisture and relatively rigid. The skirt is the portion of the lid which sees the most abuse during the life of the container, and the above noted qualities of plastic allow the lid to maintain its shape and hold together to continue to effectively close the container despite the adverse environment and repeated handling.
It is not desirable, however, to make the entire lid from plastic. Plastic does not provide a surface capable of receiving high quality printed graphics needed for the container to fulfill its function as identifier of the product and its source and as an advertising medium for the product. Paper is the preferred medium for displaying high quality graphics regarded as necessary to compete in the advertising environment of retail sales. Thus, the paperboard center provides the means for presenting complex, colorful and detailed graphics, such as illustrations of the product, company trademarks and trade dress designs, while the plastic skirt provides a durable material impervious to abuse and environmental conditions.
A problem with the composite lid design described above is that the graphics are confined to the paperboard center portion of the lid and do not extend continuously over the plastic skirt. The absence of graphics over a portion of the container is unacceptable to many product manufacturers who want a container which can receive print media over the entire outer surface without interruption. Such continuity is important for the proper presentation of trademarks and trade dress which are vital to customer recognition of a particular product from among the many competing products displayed side by side in the typical retail sales environment. There is clearly a need for a composite lid design combining the robustness and durability of the plastic skirt with the ability to receive high quality graphics continuously over the entire outer surface of the lid without interruption.